Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0New Ipswich’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
New Ipswich Library serves New Ipswich’s 5,303 residents. Last year it lent 13K books, movies and e-books and logged 5,447 visits.
What New Ipswich’s library is like
New Ipswich Library is used less than most libraries its size
New Ipswich Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $12 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Every town next door borrows more
New Ipswich’s library lends 2.5 items per resident. Each of the four neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Rindge at 8.9. Libraries next door ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
48% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 52%. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
New Ipswich Library spends $12 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind New Ipswich’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, New Ipswich is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #124 of 126 in New Hampshire. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; New Ipswich’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
New Ipswich Library spends $12 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($83K–$138K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
16 community nonprofits are registered in New Ipswich
3.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.0%
6.0% of New Ipswich’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical New Hampshire town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where New Ipswich’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
New Ipswich Library serves 5,303 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
13K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
4,222 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in New Ipswich last year.
Find it
New Ipswich Library, 6 Main Street, New Ipswich.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in New Ipswich? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Ipswich cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $64K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $218K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $64K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 1,652 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
New Ipswich ranks 5th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rindge | Ingalls Memorial Library fine-free | 8.9 | 37 | B |
| Mason | Mason Public Library fine-free | 7.8 | 20 | B+ |
| Temple | Mansfield Public Library fine-free | 6.5 | 25 | B |
| Greenville | Chamberlin Free Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 38 | B− |
| New Ipswich | New Ipswich Library fine-free | 2.5 | 24 | D |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in New Ipswich
Does New Ipswich have a public library?
Yes. New Ipswich Library, 6 Main Street, serves New Ipswich’s 5,303 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Ipswich Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is New Ipswich’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 2.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is New Ipswich’s civic life grade?
D New Ipswich is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life, #124 of 126 in New Hampshire. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in New Ipswich.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.